Mystery Train Likely for New Orleans Handicap
Jed Cohen’s Mystery Train is likely to return to Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, according to trainer Darrell Vienna, for the Grade II $400,000 New Orleans Handicap – the centerpiece for the Fair Grounds handicap division. Second last Saturday in the Grade III $125,000 Mineshaft Handicap – the local prep for the New Orleans – after a game front-running performance, the multiple Group I winner in his home country of Argentina has exited that effort well.
“He came out in good shape,” Vienna confirmed. “He’s doing really well and it was a relief to see him run well. The (Fair Grounds main) track is closer to what he ran on in Argentina. The plan right now is to come back for the New Orleans Handicap. My preference would be to have (Francisco Torres) ride him again.”
Saturday’s effort, in which the game charge set a swift pace – including a half-mile in :46.97 (two-turn horses rarely dip below :47 and endure at Fair Grounds) – comes after three consecutive poor performances in California. In all three American graded stakes attempts – including two Grade Is – the dark bay 5-year-old ridgling seemed uncomfortable. In the Mineshaft, under the patient hands of veteran jockey Torres, the eight-time winner in 23 tries ran like one of the favorites, despite his 17-1 odds. Last spring in Argentina, the seven-time stakes winner annexed two consecutive 1¼-miles Group I races in a month’s time – including the prestigious $275,000 Republica Argentina at Argentino de Palermo on May 1.
Source: Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots